A surgical team and their robot have scooped a national award, for improving care for patients with colon and rectal cancer.

The colorectal surgery team at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. Pic: NNUH

The team, which performs robotic-assisted colorectal surgery at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), received the Surgical Services Initiative of the Year at the HSJ Value Awards.

The hospital was the first in East Anglia to perform minimally invasive colorectal cancer surgery using a robot in October 2017.

Robotic-assisted surgery offers more precision for surgeons and has helped to reduce the time spent in hospital for patients following surgery and has reduced readmissions.

The colorectal surgery team have also improved theatre capacity at the hospital by using the robot at weekends.

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Irshad Shaikh, consultant surgeon, said: "We are delighted to have received this award and this is testament to all the staff who come in at weekends to carry out colorectal cancer surgery.

"It is all about teamwork and this was all made possible because we have a dedicated theatre team.

"We have had fantastic results so far with great clinical outcomes, quicker recovery for patients and we have reduced the length of hospital stay for patients who have received robotic surgery to remove their cancer."

Mark Davies, NNUH chief executive, said: "I am so delighted to see the team reap this much deserved award.

"One of the first decisions I made here as CEO was to invest in a robot as I knew what fantastic staff we have here and it shows what can be done with targeted investment.

"We are now planning to invest in additional robots to build on this track record so the NNUH will go from strength to strength providing the best care and treatment for our patients using the most up-to-date technology."

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